Lee the Firelord
by Toystory242
Summary: Sokka forces Zuko on a weapon-shopping vaction at Ba Sing Se, where Zuko hopes to avoid a few days of being the firelord. Little does he know that he'll run into Jin, the girl that his uncle made him go on a date with when he was on the run from Azula. This wouldn't be that bad of a problem, except for one thing. Jin has no idea that her Lee is actually the Firelord!
1. Chapter 1--A Run in with the Firelord

"Sokka, are you sure this is the right way?" Zuko growled, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders even more. He had his hoodie up; he didn't want to deal with people coming up to him and drooling over his scar, which was so recognizable and prominent it was like shouting "HEY! LOOK! I'M FIRELORD ZUKO!"

"Yeah, yeah, just come on."

Sokka had insisted that Zuko should take a break from trying to rebuild the county, saying that it was starting to become "bad for your health and holy shit you have freaking garbage bag-sized bags under your eyes." _So_, Sokka had decided to drag Zuko all the way to Ba Sing Se to look for a new sword, saying his missed his old one and it was finally time to get a replacement.

"_Sokka_, I'd rather be sitting in front of that godforsaken map than getting lost all the way across the country with you, who is _supposed _to be the planner and remember stuff like this."

"Sorry, _firelord_, but Ba Sing Se is huge complex maze. SO LET ME CONCENTRATE AND FOLLOW MY INSTINCTS." Sokka held his gloved hand up as Zuko tried to keep protesting in a "talk to the hand" gesture, and Zuko let out an aggravated breath and continued to follow the boy down the busy street.

After a couple more wrong turns and ramming into about a million other people in order to catch up with Sokka, they finally found the weapons shop.

Sokka blew out a relieved breath. "I FOUND IT! Eat _that_, firelord!" Sokka screamed, and Zuko had to launch himself forward and clamp his hand over Sokka's mouth so he wouldn't say any more about who he was.

Sokka held his hands up in defeat. Zuko heard him give a muffled cry under his hand. Zuko took his hand off of his mouth, and Sokka, overly dramatic, sucked in a huge breath, grabbing his throat and making a show of bending over and coughing. When he was done, Zuko watching him with his eyes half closed, Sokka merely spun around and continued down the street towards the shop, humming and skipping in obvious joy that he was finally going to get a new sword.

Zuko didn't really need a new weapon himself, as he already had his duel swords as well as his firebending, but Sokka had literally been _everywhere_, bugging and bugging him to "get off your little flamey ass and just have some fun every once in a while." Zuko had finally given in and muttered something like, "It won't hurt to browse," to which Sokka jumped about ten feet in the air and proceeded to drag him to Appa, where he had, apparently, had already packed everything and loaded it onto the bison.

Sokka did a little dance into the weapons store, and Zuko followed, blowing a bit of his black hair out of his eyes.

He stood off a little to the side as Sokka putted around the store, yelling at Zuko to follow and to come look. All of the stuff in the store _was _very nice, but Zuko was already satisfied with what he had, so nothing really popped out at him. Sokka, on the other hand, was seriously having a meltdown, running around like a crazed maniac and pointing at everything furiously.

"ZUKO! ZUKO, LOOK AT THIS!"

"It's…a hammer."

"NOT JUST ANY HAMMER! AN _EARTH_BENDING HAMMER!"

"Is there a difference?"

"Of _course_ there's a difference! This is a Toph hammer."

"I thought you were looking for a sword."

Sokka ignored him, sprinting off towards the opposite end of the store, where a collection of boomerangs sat. Zuko scrunched his face up, sighing and realizing that he might be here all day. And night.

"Sokka, I'm going to head outside for a minute, alright?" Zuko wanted any time to himself that he could get, knowing that Sokka would drag him around and point out everything in the entire store. If he could escape outside for just a moment, he would be happy.

Sure, Zuko loved his friend and was happy that Sokka was so elated about getting a new weapon, but, quite frankly, Sokka could sometimes go a little too far and poke a little too many of Zuko's buttons. He'd rather take a few deep breathes outside then explode and burn the shop down.

"OKAY!" Sokka screamed at him, barely even paying attention, too busy drooling over a suit of armor that was standing menacingly in the corner of the store.

Zuko rolled his eyes, moving past other weapons browsers and pushing the double glass doors open to go outside. _Glass _doors? Great—if Sokka got excited and threw a weapon across the shop, there was a good chance it would crash through the doors and impale Zuko in the back. He shuffled away from the doors, off a little to the right.

He looked down at the ground, pulling his hood over his face even more; his scar would be more bothersome when he was stationary, aka, people might actually glance at him and take a look at his face.

He crossed his arms over his chest, hunching over and putting his chin down. He probably looked like some creepy stalker waiting for his pray. He snorted at the thought. For a little while he had actually kinda "stalked" Aang.

"Lee?"

Zuko started at the call of the name he had used while he had lived in Ba Sing Se and on the run. Of course, there could have been another Lee, as it was a very popular name.

"Lee!" Then someone's hand was on his shoulder. He almost screamed like a girl and spazzed, shooting fire from his limbs. But he caught himself, looking at who was there.

It was _Jin_, the girl that Uncle had made him go on a date with all of those months ago. She still looked the same; same haircut and bright, optimistic smile.

He gulped. Anyone who didn't even recognize him as the banished prince would surely not recognize him as the new firelord. "Uh-hey-hi Jin," he managed to sputter, scratching the back of his head.

"It's so good to see you again! Where've you been? Why are you hiding under that cloak on a pretty day like this?"

Zuko was a little shocked that she hadn't yet found out that he was the firelord, since he was sure that everyone knew about the war's end. Maybe only Zuko's name had spread around, and Jin just hadn't gotten an image of him wearing his hair up in the traditional bun with the traditional firelord hairpiece. If that was the case for everyone in Ba Sing Se, he had sweated his butt off in his cloak all day for nothing.

"I was just-I wanted to—"

"Hey Zuko! You gotta come in here and see this!" Sokka's voice was suddenly behind him.

He spun around, giving his friend a "shut up or you will die" look.

"Zuko?" Jin wondered. "Is the _firelord _here!?" Her voice rose about ten octaves.

He spun back around. "Firelord? Pfft! There's no _firelord _here! What are you talking about? There are a million Zukos around, aren't there?"

Jin shook her head. "No, I've only heard of the one. I'd be great to meet him though; that'd be cool! Anyway, Lee, you have to come over to my house so we can catch up!"

Sokka walked over, cradling a sword shaped object wrapped in brown paper. "Who's this?"

Zuko glared at Sokka. "_This _is Jin, a girl that I knew _when I lived in Ba Sing Se_." He twitched his eye a few times, hoping that Sokka would be smart enough to understand what he was getting at.

"Oh, you brought a friend? What's your name?" Jin asked sweetly.

"I'm Sokka." He held up a hand awkwardly in a gesture of hello.

"Well, how about _both_ of you come along to my place and stay for dinner? Do you have a place to stay for the night?"

Zuko exchanged a glance with Sokka. "Umm…"

Jin clapped her hands together. "Then you are formally invited to stay at my place if you wish and don't find it too awkward. I _am_, though, making you stay for dinner. You're done here, right?"

Sokka let loose a wide grin, drooling all over his new weapon. "ASK STEEL SWORD!" he squeaked, voice cracking.

"Umm…?" Jin leaned forward, looking closer at Sokka's package.

Zuko grabbed her arm. "_Yes_, we're done here."

Jin smiled up again. "It really is good to see you again, Lee!" She began to skip down the street. They followed, and when she was just out of hearing range, Sokka burst into laughter. "LEE!? YOU'RE NAME WAS _LEE_!? THAT IS THE _OPPOSITE _OF YOUR PERSONALITY!"

Zuko seethed, ducking his head. "My uncle thought of it, okay?"

Sokka was having trouble breathing. "YOUR UNCLE IS A GENIUS!"

Zuko let out a breath through his nose, smoke coming along with it like he was some kind of dragon. That would be nice; then he could claw Sokka's face to keep him from laughing.

They reached Jin's house after a few minutes of walking. She led them through the door just as the sun was beginning to set, telling them that both of her parents were away until the next day and that they were alone.

Zuko's stomach felt like it was about to explode. If he screamed, fire would blow out of his mouth, he was so jittery about Jin finding out about him. Being, like, a block away from the coffee shop him and Uncle had worked at wasn't doing much to help him either.

"How's fish for dinner?"

Sokka shrugged. "I guess that counts as meat."

Zuko elbowed him, putting on a forced smile. "YUP-perfect!"

Jin tilted her head, walking over to him and flicking off his hood. "You grew your hair out!"

Zuko continued his forced smile, scratching at his head. "Uh, yeah, I did…"

"It looks _lovely_." Jin was all smiles.

It felt like all of the breath was leaving Zuko's body. She was flirting. She was flirting! Did Jin still have a crush on him? He had only gone on a date with her because Uncle had forced him too, and, while she was a nice girl, he loved Mai.

Sokka looked like he was on the verge of laughter. His cheeks were puffed out like he was some demonic chipmunk. Zuko shot him a glare.

"Uhh…thanks," he said to Jin.

Jin gave him a huge smile back, turning and going through a doorway off to the right. "You two sit at the table there. I'm going to start dinner."

Zuko slowly sat down, putting his hands on the table in front of him. Sokka sat down next to him, still gazing at his sword.

After a moment of silence, Sokka elbowed him in the gut. "So. I'm assuming you never told her who ya were?"

"I was a fugitive when I met her!"

Sokka smiled slyly. "And she likes you, huh?"

Zuko shot him an angry glance. "Yeah. I went on a date with her once."

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH, Mai's gonna be PIIISSEEDD."

"It was only because Uncle insisted! I'm going to have to break it to her that I have a girlfriend now."

"And _other_ things…like, oh gee, I don't know, THAT YOU'RE THE FIRELORD!"

Zuko almost toppled Sokka, because at this point he was shouting, but Jin poked her head into the room, smiling like crazy.

"How are you two? The fish is nearly done."

Zuko gave her a thumbs up; she obviously hadn't heard anything. "Very well, thanks."

Jin smiled and disappeared back into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2--Lee's Scar

Sokka knew that it was his job to tell Jin. He constantly pestered Zuko, but, in his heart, his loved him the way he loved Aang, Katara, and Toph, even if he never showed it. He'd been meaning to pay him back somehow for saving his sister from Azula's lightning, and maybe, even though this was miniscule compared to that, he could do this for him.

"Hey Jin, can I talk to you?"

Zuko was asleep on the couch, and, once again, Sokka couldn't stop his eyes from drifting to his scar. Zuko had finally told them how he had gotten it, and the story still haunted him. But somehow, he had to put that story into words for Jin.

"Sure. It's Sokka, right?"

"Yup." He sat down at the table, Jin across from him and Zuko to his right.

"What's on your mind?"

"Have you…ever heard of the Fire Nation's banished prince?"

Jin nodded. "Of course. He's the Fire Lord now. Zuko."

Sokka nodded back. "I want to tell you a story about him. The story of how he got banished."

"Um, alright."

"When Zuko was thirteen, he requested to go into a war chamber to listen to a war meeting, so that he could learn to rule his nation one day, even though his Uncle, the great Dragon of the West, insisted it was a bad idea, and told him not to speak out. Even with this warning, when Zuko heard the general's plan—to sacrifice a battalion of new recruits to win a battle, he got angry and told the general that it wasn't right to kill all of those people—people who loved and defended their nation.

"Fire Lord Ozai became angry with Zuko; and told him he must have an Agni Kai. Zuko thought it was with the general he had spoken up against, and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. Zuko had spoken against the general, but, when he did, he was in Ozai's war room, which meant that he had disrespected Ozai himself. Zuko would have to duel his father.

"When he saw that it was his father that had come to duel him, he begged for mercy. He didn't want to fight his father. But Ozai is coldhearted, like you know. He advanced on Zuko, and, even though Zuko had said he wouldn't fight, Ozai pulled his arm back and blasted fire on him, scarring him.

"The day after, Ozai said that because Zuko hadn't fought, he had shown a great amount of weakness, and banished him on a hopeless search for the avatar. For three years Zuko did this, not succeeding, until Ozai grew impatient with him, and sent his sister, Azula, on his trail. Zuko and General Iroh became fugitives, and Zuko struggled. He even returned to the Fire Nation for an amount of time. But, eventually, he figured out, with Iroh's help, that what the Fire Nation was doing was wrong, and that his destiny was to teach the avatar firebending. He was a hero. He helped stop the war."

Sokka finished with a florish, raising his arms high up in the air and taking a deep breath. He hoped he had told it well; Zuko's story was a big one, and he wanted Jin to understand it.

Jin was quiet for a moment, then took a deep breath as well. "A very good story; one that I haven't heard. And it surly adds to my hatred to Ozai. But is there any specific reason you're telling me?"

"Because," Sokka said. "I told you, Ozai left a scar on Zuko. That scar…" Sokka raised his hand and traced a line on the left side of his face, right where Zuko's was. "…is right here."

Jin's eyes widened as she finally seemed to get it. She turned her head to look at Zuko, who was still sleeping on the couch. "No! No way! Tha-that's _Lee_. He worked in a tea shop with his uncle down the street—"

Sokka shook his head. "You met Zuko when he was a fugitive, when he was living under a different name. His uncle is General Iroh, the Dragon of the West."

"S-so, he's the _firelord_? He knows the avatar? _You _know the avatar?" She clamped her hand down even harder against her mouth. "_Sokka_! I wondered where I had heard that name before! Y-you're the one who came up with the invasion plan for the Day of Black Sun, _you're _one of the ones who helped stop the war!"

Sokka gave her a shy smile.

"That's why…Le-Zuko; he can firebend?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah. He taught it to Aang."

"That's how the lanterns lit; why he said things were complicated!" She paused, finally looking Sokka in the eye instead of having them go around and around in circles like she had lost control of them. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"You mean at the time or today? He _obviously _couldn't tell you at the time—"

"I mean today! Now that the war's over…"

Sokka shrugged. "He was scared. Wouldn't you be? How can he possibly explain something like that; something that big? He's still a kid too, you know. He's my age."

"Why did you decide to tell me for him?"

Sokka gave her a small laugh. "Man, I am _so_ in debt to that guy! It's really annoying, actually. He helped me save my father, my girlfriend, and jumped in front of a lightning bolt to save my sister. The first two, I like to look at as his apology for doing all of the shit to us he did when he was hunting Aang. But saving my sister…now the debt's been switched over to me. That's part of the reason that I dragged him here in the first place; he looked so tired and dead to the world; not having fun anymore. Like, even when we were rescuing my father and girlfriend, there was a spark in his eye, along with all of that anger and worry. But lately…he just seemed bummed _all the time_."

Jin swallowed audibly. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"Nothing," said a voice behind her.

She started, gasping and whipping her head around.

Zuko was standing behind her, hair messy from sleeping, his amber eyes bright in the dark. "You don't have to do anything, Jin."

**Hey! Chapter 2! So yeah. It's not going to be much longer, maybe I'll fluff it up and try to write one more chapter. But I always just kinda wondered what would happen when Jin found out (even though I'm a MaixZuko shipper. Sorry! :D) I'll make sure Jin ends up happy; no worries, guys.**


	3. Chapter 3--All is Well

"Lee! Or…I guess that's not your real name."

Sokka stood and smiled at his friend. "How long have you been listening?"

"The whole time. I woke up to you guys sitting down at the table. Thank you, Sokka, by the way."

"No problem."

Jin squirmed around in her chair, twiddling her thumbs. "So, you're really him, huh?"

Zuko scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, and, uh, I know this might be another punch in the gut, but I've also…kinda got a girlfriend."

Jin nodded. "Mai. I know."

Zuko went around the table, pulling out the chair next to Sokka and sitting down. "I'm sorry."

Jin held her hands up. "Oh, no, don't be sorry! I think it's amazing! I mean, your story is amazing, and I know you're going to make the world so much better and it's so _cool _that I actually went out to dinner with you…and you…lit up those lights…with…firebending…" she trailed off.

Sokka smirked. _Lit up those lights? _he mouthed to Zuko, who elbowed him in the stomach.

"Are you going to be okay?" Zuko asked her.

"Oh yeah! I'm going to be fine. Don't worry about me!"

But Zuko looked pretty worried.

And Jin looked like she was not going to be fine.

On their way home, they ran into a guy who was rambling to another guy about a beautiful girl named Jin that had come to his tea shop.

Zuko froze in his tracks, mouth half open. Then he leaned down, whispering to Sokka, "Do you believe in destiny?"

"What? Uh. I guess…?"

"Because I do. I think that you were destined to take me on this vacation." Then he went over and tapped the boy on the shoulder.

**Yeah I know...super short and kinda a cliche ending, but...I wanted it to be all happy and destiny-like. Hope you enjoyed! :D**


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